The Opera House isn't just for classical arts. Just ask the Sydney Opera House seal chatbot.
The Sydney Opera House has launched a new campaign to address recent market research which revealed that three in four Sydneysiders haven’t seen a show in the last year.
After a competitive pitch late last year, The Works and sister specialist messaging agency On Message, was tasked with getting the word out.
The resulting campaign saw the agencies tapped the lovable Opera House seal, who can often be spied on the northern steps of the Opera House, to become the first-ever voice of the performing arts centre’s new chatbot.
Hosted on Facebook Messenger, the chatbot uses a conversational platform to engage new audiences in an informal way.
With an extensive conversational flow, the bot holds over 100 pieces of tailored content including images, videos and GIFS. It also includes integration with a social amalgamator, enabling users to scroll through live social media footage of the Opera House.
The seal bot chats with Sydneysiders about upcoming gigs, reviews, surprising tales of celebrity encounters and even suggests date night ideas.
“To be honest, working with the seal was a little tough at first. He sleeps like 14 hours a day so planning around his schedule was a nightmare. I think becoming the Opera House ‘frontseal’ got to his head," The Works Sydney creative director Guy Patrick says.
"But we made it through in the end to create a campaign we’re all pretty excited about. I think combining the seal’s personality with effective and innovative technology creates a far more engaging experience for everyone.”
As well as the chatbot, the campaign extends to JCDecaux out of home and a social media campaign. To celebrate the campaign launch, a giant eight-metre inflatable seal arrived in Sydney Harbour at the Opera House.
